President Trump reacted with surprise when asked Wednesday about reports that his administration was making a global push to decriminalize homosexuality. In an Oval Office exchange with reporters, Trump was asked about the plan, which was first reported by NBC News on Tuesday. “Mr. President, on your push to decriminalize homosexuality, are you going to do that?

"Our country is confronted with a resurgence of anti-Semitism undoubtedly without precedent since the Second World War," President Emmanuel Macron said later on Tuesday in an annual speech to Jewish leaders in France. France 3 television said it went live from the first cemetery in the village of Quatzenheim on Tuesday as President Emmanuel Macron was visiting to pay his respects after more than 90 graves were vandalized with swastikas and anti-Semitic abuse. "We are talking about explicit death threats, comments that were openly anti-Semitic and racist, including "Heil Hitler", "dirty Jew" or "dirty Jews", comments that were addressed at Emmanuel Macron and representatives of the Jewish community," the channel said in a statement explaining its decision.

Pakistan on Thursday banned two groups believed to be fronts for the group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, amid heightened pressure on Islamabad to act against militants. Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation were designated "proscribed organisations", the interior ministry said in a statement, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan had ordered officials to accelerate action against banned groups. JuD and FIF are considered by the UN to be fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group accused by Washington and New Delhi of carrying out the Mumbai attack, which killed 166 people and brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

Former President Barack Obama teamed up with Golden State Warrior star Stephen Curry to encourage the audience of young African-American men to focus on their own self-confidence as the path to true success in life. On Tuesday, the very dynamic duo spoke at an event to mark the fifth anniversary of the non-profit My Brother's Keeper Alliance in Oakland, California, which is funded in part by the Obama Foundation. Over the course of their conversation, Obama and Curry discussed the evolving role of men in society and cautioned against falling into old “stereotypes” of what being a man means.

Southwest Airlines' flight woes continue, with nearly 400 Thursday flights canceled due to maintenance issues and winter weather. Southwest, the nation's largest domestic carrier, had canceled 389 flights, or 9 percent of its schedule, as of 1:15 p.m. ET, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. That is the highest number of cancellations by any carrier and accounts for 51 percent of flight cancellations within, into or out of the United States, according to FlightAware. Southwest attributed the high number of cancellations to weather challenges and continuing maintenance issues that have a pulled a higher-than-usual number of aircraft out of service.

A new vote has been ordered in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District after the republican in the race admitted his lead over his democratic opponent was tainted by ballot-tampering conducted by operatives working for is campaign. The new vote was approved unanimously by the state's board of elections on Thursday after several days of evidentiary hearings in which witnesses said that operatives hired by the campaign of Mark Harris conducted illegal door-to-door ballot harvesting in violation of state law. Mr Harris, who had previously pushed back on the notion that his victory came as a result of any voter fraud, agreed on Thursday that his 905-vote lead over Democrat Dan McCready may have been impacted by that tampering.

In fact, the F-21 is an F-16 that Lockheed has upgraded with new cockpit displays, conformal fuel tanks, a larger airframe spine that can accommodate additional electronics, fittings for towed radar decoys, a new infrared sensor and a refueling probe that's compatible with India's Russian-made aerial tankers.

At least two people knew a man was pressuring his girlfriend to kill his fiancee before that woman's sudden disappearance. According to court records, two friends were told by Krystal Jean Lee Kenney in October that Frazee wanted her to kill Berreth. The women were later interviewed by police investigating Berreth's Nov. 22 disappearance.

Canada is looking to quickly bring over siblings of a Syrian refugee distraught over the loss of her seven children in a Halifax house fire, the prime minister said Thursday. "The immigration minister is seized with this particular case," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said when asked if Ottawa would fast-track the immigration or asylum process to bring the woman's brothers to Canada in order to provide her with family support. The family was among tens of thousands of Syrian refugees welcomed by Canada over the past four years.

New York Times publisher Arthur “A.G.” Sulzberger responded to what he called “President Trump's continued attacks on a free press” Wednesday, hours after Trump lashed out at the paper as a “true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. Sulzberger wrote that Trump's “demonizing the free press as the enemy, simply for performing its role of asking difficult questions and bringing uncomfortable information to light, President Trump is retreating from a distinctly American principle. The latest standoff between the Times and the White House followed the paper's Tuesday publication of an in-depth examination of Trump's efforts to discredit and derail multiple investigations into his presidential campaign and action...

Internet platforms such as Facebook and Twitter could be fined for not taking down racist or violent content fast enough under a law that France might propose later this year, Digital Minister Mounir Mahjoubi said on Thursday. President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday night told the annual meeting of France's largest Jewish organization that a law could be presented in May in response to a recent spate of anti-Semitic incidents. There will be an obligation for results: if the content is not taken down then there will be a fine, and a large fine,” Mahjoubi said on France Info radio.

The defamation lawsuit filed on behalf of Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann alleges the teen has suffered permanent harm to his reputation as a result of the paper's malice; Doug McKelway reports.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating Johnson & Johnson over concerns the company's baby powder may have contained asbestos. The agencies subpoenaed the health care product maker in the wake of several jury awards to plaintiffs who claimed the company's talc products were tainted with asbestos and caused their cancers. The agencies seek documents about those matters and other suits Johnson & Johnson faces filed by shareholders and pension holders over the situation.

Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry summoned the Pakistani ambassador on Wednesday over his remarks that Afghan peace talks could be affected if India resorted to violence after last week's attack on Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir. In a statement issued after the meeting with Ambassador Zahid Nasrullah, the Foreign Ministry said it deemed his comments to be "in contradiction with Pakistan's commitments with regards to realizing peace in Afghanistan". Tensions between India and Pakistan have risen sharply since the suicide bomb attack in the disputed Kashmir region, which the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group claimed responsibility for.

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's president, ordered the border with Brazil to be closed and said he was considering doing the same with Colombia as US aid stacked up on both frontiers on Thursday night. Mr Maduro dismissed efforts to deliver basic food and medicine as a "provocation" as opposition groups were heading to the border to carry the aid packages through in defiance of the regime. Juan Guaido, the opposition leader now recognised as Venezuela's legitimate president by 52 countries, was headed to the frontier with Colombia in a motorcade on Thursday to personally oversee the aid delivery.

Embattled Empire actor Jussie Smollett is now considered a “suspect” for filing a false police report, evidence of which has been presented before a grand jury, a Chicago Police Department spokesman announced on Wednesday. Case Update: Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony). Smollett initially told police that he was attacked outside of a Subway restaurant at around 2 a.m. on January 29 by two masked men who allegedly beat him, poured an unknown chemical on him, and placed a noose around his neck.

Japan wants Britain to have frictionless trade with the European Union after Brexit, its ambassador said Thursday, insisting a damaging no-deal scenario should be avoided. Japanese companies are looking to expand their investment in Britain but are holding back due to uncertainty over Brexit, Koji Tsuruoka said during a talk in London. However, he insisted Japanese carmaker Honda's decision this week to close its plant in Britain had nothing to do with Brexit.

A small funeral home was packed with hundreds of mourners for a 21-year-old college student who was killed on the first day of his internship when a worker opened fire inside an Illinois manufacturing facility. Trevor Wehner was among five people killed in the Friday shooting at the Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora. During a brief religious service Wednesday in the Village of Sheridan, Wehner was remembered as family-oriented, someone who could change the atmosphere of a room just by walking in and who liked to tease and play jokes.

To become eligible for Social Security disability benefits, you must be unable to engage in substantial gainful activity. "It is possible to qualify for Social Security disability benefits and still work in a limited capacity," says Nick Ortiz, a board-certified Social Security disability attorney and owner of Ortiz Law Firm in Pensacola, Florida. Read on for a look at what's involved with Social Security disability benefits, as well as the rules related to working while receiving benefits.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is set to arrive in China on Thursday in the middle of a multi-country swing through Asia that may burnish his image abroad as ties with western leaders remain strained. The visit will include a meeting with President Xi Jinping and a high-level joint dialogue aimed at boosting relations after the nations agreed to promote a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016. He's expected to visit South Korea after that in the final leg of his tour after stops in Indonesia and Malaysia were postponed.

Tax troubles: Some Americans face a costly surprise this tax season: tiny refunds or bigger bills Tax filing tips: Taxes 2019: 10 common filing mistakes to avoid this year Track it If you haven't received your tax refund, you can track its progress using the “Where's My Refund? app online or the free IRS mobile app IRS2Go. Information on your tax refund typically will be available within 24 hours after you filed an electronic return or four weeks after mailing a paper return.

Two cardinals criticised on Wednesday Pope Francis's approach to the clerical paedophilia crisis, saying "abuse of power" was not to blame but homosexuality. "We turn to you with deep distress! The Catholic world is adrift," US Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke and German Cardinal Walter Brandmueller said in an open letter to the heads of the bishops' conferences. "Sexual abuse is blamed on clericalism.

A winter storm bore down on the U.S. East Coast on Wednesday, threatening to snarl New York City's evening commute after hindering air travel along the East Coast and prompting the shutdown of federal offices in Washington. Snow turning to sleet slickened roadways in the New York metropolitan area by the early afternoon and was blamed for a rash of fender benders and traffic jams. The widespread weather system piled as much as 6 inches (15 cm) of snow across the Washington area before turning to sleet, said meteorologist Bryan Jackson of the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

The Home Office has stripped jihadi bride Shamima Begum of her British citizenship, but the ongoing saga of what will happen next to her and her days-old son remains up in the air. International law forbids nations from making people stateless by revoking their only citizenship, prompting speculation that Begum held dual citizenship through her Bangladeshi parents. On Wednesday morning, Begum's lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said his client does not have dual nationality, but the Home Office told The Telegraph laws in Bangladesh means the teenager automatically retains dual citizenship until she is 21.